01 Reading your notice
The notice names three different companies, and it’s easy to mix them up. The bold heading at the top names the Creditor — our client — twice. The business the lien was filed against is on the “Re:” line underneath.
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1
Date of the notice
The notice refers to payments made to the Merchant from this date onward. If your company has paid the Merchant recently, we’ll ask for the payment date.
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2
The Creditor Our client
The funding company that holds the lien. It appears twice in the bold heading. This is not the company the lien was filed against.
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3
The Merchant The “Re:” line
The business the lien was filed against — typically a vendor, supplier, or contractor your company pays. This is the name to give us when you call or email.
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4
EIN
The Merchant’s federal tax ID number. Compare it with the W-9 in your vendor records to confirm whether the Merchant is a company you actually do business with.
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5
Balance Due to Creditor
What the Merchant owes the Creditor. It is not a bill to your company.
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6
Enclosures
A copy of the UCC-1 financing statement — stamped with its filing number and the state where it was filed — along with the Merchant’s agreement with the Creditor.
02 About the notice
What is a UCC Lien Notice?
Our client, the Creditor, purchased a portion of the Merchant’s future receivables and holds a security interest in the Merchant’s accounts receivable — the money the Merchant’s own customers owe it. That interest is recorded in a public UCC-1 financing statement, a copy of which is enclosed with your notice.
The Merchant has defaulted on its agreement with the Creditor. The notice tells companies that may owe the Merchant money that those receivables have been assigned, and that payments owed to the Merchant are now to be directed through our firm instead.
Why did my company receive this notice?
Your company’s name appeared in the Merchant’s business records — for example, as the source of payments to the Merchant — which suggests you may be one of its customers.
Those records sometimes show a name only partially or with a misspelling, so a notice can occasionally reach a company that doesn’t do business with the Merchant at all. If that’s you, see “We’ve never done business with this company.”
Does your firm have my company’s banking information?
No. We have the Merchant’s records, which may show payments coming in from your company. We don’t have your company’s account information.
Is there a lien against my company? Is my company being sued?
No. The lien is against the Merchant. The notice went to your company because you may owe the Merchant money, and it tells you where that money is to be sent instead. Our firm has filed nothing against your company.
Is the “Balance Due” a bill to my company?
No. The Balance Due is what the Merchant owes the Creditor as of the date of the notice. The notice concerns only money your company owes — or comes to owe — the Merchant.
How that applies to specific invoices is something an attorney will walk you through. Contact us and we’ll take it from there.
03 What to do
We’ve never done business with this company.
No action is needed from your company. Please keep the notice on file in case the Merchant becomes a customer or vendor later on.
You’re welcome to let us know so we can note it on our file — a short email to Info@MadebLaw.com with the Merchant’s name and your company’s name is enough.
We know them, but we don’t owe them anything right now.
Nothing is required from your company today. Please keep the notice on file: if anything comes due to the Merchant in the future, the notice tells you where that payment needs to go.
If you expect to do business with the Merchant again, it helps to let us know.
We have open invoices or payments scheduled to them.
The notice you received directs that payments owed to the Merchant be sent through our firm rather than to the Merchant.
The fastest way to set that up is to email Info@MadebLaw.com. An attorney will send you remittance instructions and answer any questions about specific invoices. Please include the details listed under Contacting us.
We already paid them.
Please contact us with the date, amount, and method of each payment. Whether a payment was made before or after your company received the notice matters, which is why we ask for the date.
An attorney will review what you send and follow up with you directly. In the meantime, please hold any further payments to the Merchant.
Can we keep doing business with them?
That’s your company’s decision — the notice doesn’t restrict who you work with. What it covers is where payments owed to the Merchant go.
Our accounts payable department needs this in writing.
Of course. Email Info@MadebLaw.com with what your AP team needs, and we’ll get it to you.
Please take us off your list.
This isn’t a mailing list. The notice was sent because your company appeared in the Merchant’s records. If you don’t do business with the Merchant, nothing further is needed from you — though letting us know helps us keep our records accurate.
04 Verifying the notice
How do I know this isn’t a scam?
It’s a fair question — payment-redirection fraud is common, and we’d rather you check. Three ways to do it:
- Look up the filing. The copy of the UCC-1 enclosed with your notice is stamped with a filing number and the state where it was filed. You can search that number in the state’s Secretary of State UCC registry.
- Contact us independently. Call 800-486-9111 or email Info@MadebLaw.com using the details on this website, rather than contact details from a message you weren’t expecting.
- Look up the attorney. Attorneys admitted in New York are listed in the New York State Unified Court System’s public attorney directory.
Take the time you need to verify before you send any payment.
The UCC-1 is usually filed in the Merchant’s home state, so it may not be a New York filing even though our firm is in New York.
The UCC-1 lists a different company as the secured party.
That’s a common filing arrangement. A secured party will often file its UCC-1 through a corporate services company acting as its representative, in which case the filing lists that company — usually followed by the words “as representative” — rather than the Creditor itself.
If you’d like the relationship confirmed in writing, email Info@MadebLaw.com and an attorney will respond.
The name doesn’t quite match our customer.
Check the EIN printed on the notice against the W-9 or vendor record you have for the company you know. That usually settles it in one step.
If you can’t check, or you’re still unsure, email us the company name exactly as it appears in your records and we’ll compare it against ours.
Can we request proof of the assignment?
Yes. Send your request to Info@MadebLaw.com with the Merchant’s name from the “Re:” line, and an attorney will respond.
We’re not in New York. Does this apply to us?
Notices like this one arise under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, which has been adopted in every U.S. state, so they aren’t limited to New York companies.
For how it applies to your company’s particular situation, speak with your own counsel or email us and an attorney will respond.
Why would we pay your firm instead of the Merchant?
The notice cites Section 9-406(a) of the Uniform Commercial Code. Under that section, once a company that owes money on an account receives notice that the account has been assigned and that payment is to be made to the assignee, paying the original business no longer discharges what it owes.
We can’t advise your company on how that applies to your invoices. If you have questions about it, your own attorney is the right person to ask — or email us and one of our attorneys will respond.
05 Special situations
Each of these needs an attorney’s answer, so email is the fastest route. Write to Info@MadebLaw.com with the Merchant’s name from the “Re:” line and a short description of your role.
I’m an attorney representing a party.
Please email us with the Merchant’s name and the party you represent, and an attorney will respond to you directly.
We’re a registered agent or corporate services company.
Please forward the notice to the company it’s addressed to, as you would any other notice. If that company has questions, it can contact us directly.
We’re a payment processor or platform.
Please have your legal or legal-process team email us with the Merchant’s name and any reference number you’ve assigned, and an attorney will respond.
We’re a lender or factor with our own claim to these receivables.
Please email us with the Merchant’s name and the details of your filing or agreement, and an attorney will respond.
The Merchant has filed for bankruptcy.
Please email us right away with the Merchant’s name and, if you have it, the bankruptcy case number and court.
I’m the Merchant, or an owner of it.
This page is written for the Merchant’s customers. Please contact us directly at Info@MadebLaw.com or 800-486-9111. If you have an attorney, please have them contact us.
06 Contacting us
Whether you email or call, having these details ready lets us find the right file on the first try:
- The Merchant’s name from the “Re:” line — not the company in the bold heading
- The Merchant’s EIN as printed on the notice
- Your company’s exact legal name
- Your name, title, and a direct phone number
- Whether you have open invoices with the Merchant, or have paid it recently — with dates and amounts
Madeb Law represents the Creditor named on your notice and cannot give your company legal advice. For advice about your company’s rights or obligations, please consult your own attorney.
